A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 03 eBook

Natural History of the West Indies, as thus quoted
by Ramusio. In the year 1517, an English corsair,
under pretence of a voyage of discovery, came with
a great ship to the coast of Brazil, whence he crossed
over to the island of Hispaniola, and arrived near
the mouth of the harbour of St Domingo, where he sent
his boat to demand leave of entry for the purpose
of traffic. But Francis de Tapia, the governor
of the castle, caused some ordnance to be fired from
the castle at the ship, which was bearing in for the
port; on which the ship put about, and the people
in the boat went again on board. They then sailed
to the island of St John, or Porto Rico, where they
went into the harbour of St Germaine, where they required
provisions and other necessaries for their ship, and
complained against the inhabitants of St Domingo, saying
that they came not to do any harm, but to trade for
what they wanted, paying in money or merchandize.
In this place they procured provisions, and paid in
certain vessels of wrought tin and other things.
They afterwards departed towards Europe, where it
was thought they never arrived, as we never heard any
more news of them[16].”

From the above hint respecting the riches of Peru
finding their way to the Tower of London, and as combined
with the former voyage of Cabot to the north-west;
in search of a passage to India, it may be inferred,
that the object of the present voyage was to discover
a passage to India by the south-west, or by what is
now called Cape Horn. The passage to India by
the Cape of Good Hope, had been granted exclusively
by the Pope to the Portuguese; and Henry VIII. then
a good catholic, wished to evade this exclusive privilege
by endeavouring to discover a new route. It was
well observed by one of the kings of France, in reference
to the Pope having granted all the East to the Portuguese,
and all the West to the Spaniards, “I wish my
brothers of Spain and Portugal would shew me the testament
of our father Adam, by which they claim such ample
inheritance.” The supposition that Cabot
had perished on his voyage from Porto Rico to England
was unfounded. He was alive there in 1549, in
which year Edward VI. granted a yearly pension for
life to him and his assigns, of L.166, 13s. 4d. to
be paid quarterly, in consideration of the good and
acceptable service done and to be done by him[17].

We have been induced to insert this long digression
in this place, because no journals remain of the voyages
to which they relate. The other early voyages
of the English to the New World, were all for the purpose
of discovering a N.W. passage by sea to India, or
for colonizing the provinces of North America, and
will fail to be particularly noticed in other divisions
of our work.